Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Album Review: The Way I'm Livin' by Lee Ann Womack

It has been six years since Lee Ann Womack put out an album. That's a long time for a country star to take time off between albums. From what I read at allmusic.com it doesn't sound like the delay was necessarily by choice. But no matter by the time she got around to recording The Way I'm Livin' she had a new label, a new producer, and a 2014 sound. Her new producer just happens to be her husband, but also the same person who produced the last album from Miranda Lambert and the Pistol Annies. So it should be no surprise that this album has a bit of an edge to it. From the sound to the song selections the album feels gritty.

The truth is it works.  For 10 songs this is a solid album.  Lee Ann Womack sounds great, the production is excellent, and then something happens.  The last three songs honestly sound like they come from a different album.  There is a part of me that thinks they gave the label a 10 song album and the label wanted more, so they pulled out songs recorded back in 2009 and threw them on the end.

Following the Rhapsody rating method I give it 2 out of 5 stars for Not Bad.  A good winter album to throw on when your working at home alone.

It's a horrible video, and for a first single off the album from a big artist it only has around 51,000 views on youtube.  It's sad to think that you simply peak with one big huge song and then nothing, but that seems to be the path of Womack's career.


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